The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more particularly to trailing edge contours for a turbine rotor blade.
Gas turbines compress air to high pressures using rotary compressors, inject fuel into this compressed air and ignite the resulting fuel-air mixture with combustors, and extract mechanical energy from the resulting high-temperature, high-pressure gas flow via rotary turbines. Compressors and turbines comprise a plurality of alternating stages of rotary blades and stationary vanes. Blades and vanes are airfoil components that project into engine airflow paths to impart or extract energy, or to direct airflow, respectively. Blades and vanes may be formed integrally with rotor disks or engine casings, respectively, or may be slotted, locked, or otherwise inserted into appropriate locations.
Airfoil vibration can damage components or decrease component lifetimes, reduce overall engine efficiency, and produce undesirable noise. High amplitude vibration can arise when engine order frequencies (determined by the rotational speeds of the gas turbine) coincide with airfoil natural resonance frequencies. In the past, some gas turbine engines have managed vibration using attachable dampers. Dampers may, for instance, include clips, rings, or weights designed to dissipate that vibrational energy or change the frequency characteristics of at-risk airfoils.